Summer 10 - newcomer mingle

[kollomods]

[ It's late morning when the ferry comes around, landing on the jetty and letting off a small but valued group of new arrivals. Olivia is out there, greeting and handing out information packets.

Later in the afternoon, there's a small welcome party set up at the community center. The tables are laden with cinnamon buns, elderflower lemonade, fresh strawberries and an assortment of small cookies and other treats. There's also thirium lovingly set up to the side of the buffet, for the android population. Ingvar shows up a little later with his accordion, setting the mood with some traditional folk songs like he's wont to do. ]

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[forever_jack]

Moose Cabin – late morning

Apparently there are new people arriving today, so he's got a pot of coffee on ready this time. By the time people start wandering by looking for their cabins, he's out on the porch cradling a mug, smiling and waving to those who come by, wondering which of them is his new housemate.

Community Centre – late afternoon/evening

Jack's never one to miss a party, even a low key one, and he's here, scoffing cinnamon buns and mingling with the newcomers. Later, he'll be hanging around near Ingvar, enjoying the music and occasionally joining in with a few harmonies. He's heard some of these songs several times now!

community center

[sparkandburn]

Even this new and improved, prison-broken Spike isn't the greatest with all this meeting and greeting. Normally he wouldn't have made an appearance at this little get-together, but he has an ulterior motive — to get Jack ridiculously, shamelessly drunk so they can have that heart-to-heart that's so clearly looming at the horizon.

He steps up next to Jack, seemingly out of nowhere as is his wont, with a telltale clink announcing his presence - there's presents in the bag currently slung over his shoulder.

"Jack."

[forever_jack]

Spike is not really someone he expected to see here, at least not without Ianto in tow, but it's certainly not a bad surprise, especially since the clinking coming from Spike's bag suggests he's brought something rather more interesting to drink than elderflower lemonade.

"Spike," he says equably, inclining his head in greeting. "Decided to give the welcome party a try?"

At least he's not tensing up or trying to get away or anything, which is probably a good start for Spike's plan!

[sparkandburn]

"Got sick of being cooped up in the cabin."

It's not entirely true and Jack can probably clock as much. There's a handful of things Spike would rather do than hang around here with all these cheerful people, but they have some catching up to do and if that means he has to live with cinnamon buns and merriment for a little while then so be it.

"Want something stronger than squash? I brought gifts."

[forever_jack]

Yeah, he gets that Spike's not being entirely truthful, but then he is aware that he hasn't exactly been making himself easy to get hold of the last few days so he appreciates the gesture of not calling him out on that and telling a white lie instead.

Especially when Spike's offering booze to cushion the impact.

"Oh god, yes please!" he says, with some relief. The lemonade is good, but a party is so much more of a party when there's at least a little alcohol involved!

[sparkandburn]

Chances are it'll take some time before they're back to being honest with one another - if they'll ever even manage to get back to the level of honesty they had in prison. It was different back then, they knew they were stuck with each other for possibly the rest of eternity — situations like that has a habit of squeezing confessions out of people — but here, either of them could up and leave whenever they please. No pressure.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

He motions towards the back garden - let's take this party elsewhere.

[forever_jack]

Yeah, the knowledge that they had to make it work back then definitely helped raise the level of honesty and sharing between them, and perhaps it's inevitable that since they escaped Jack's motivation to maintain that has dropped somewhat.

On the other hand, after all this time, he really does value Spike as a friend (as well as all the hot sex, obviously!) and he'd like to get back to feeling comfortable with him again.

Which is why he grins a bit in response to Spike's comment and easily follows his urging towards the gentle twilight of the garden and heads for one of the tables on the patio, taking a seat and holding out his hand for some alcohol.

"All settled into your new cabin, then?"

[sparkandburn]

As cool and urban as he likes to make himself out as, he has to admit that this island has it's charms. It's nice here, quiet, fragrant, serene, all words that would've made his skin crawl some years before but these days he can appreciate it all the more. Maybe he's getting old, finally. Maybe he's just found something that doesn't make him want to chase the next big kick.

"Just about." He responds casually, handing Jack a bottle from the bag. Whiskey, of course, some local brand that's drinkable if not great. "Not much settling to do, if I'm honest. I travel light."

[forever_jack]

"Thanks," he smiles, uncapping the bottle and clinking it against Spike's before taking a decent swig, sighing happily as it goes down.

"I think we all travel pretty light these days," he remarks, thinking about it. "Seems like the longer I live, the less I carry with me. Perhaps you can only bear to lose things so many times before you stop picking them up in the first place."

[sparkandburn]

"Maybe." He shrugs, drinks, settles in for whatever deep, philosophical discussion this will turn out to be. While he does have a hidden agenda he's in no great rush to get to it. There's all the time in the world on this island.

"How much did you start with?"

[forever_jack]

Jack laughs. "When I left home for the first time, for the Time Agency? Oh, god, so much stuff. Little gifts from everyone, and reminders of home, things Gray had made me, the scarf my nan knitted me when I was four... And then they sent me on my first mission and I realised I couldn't take any of that with me. Heading out to another time and place, and you couldn't take anything that might give you away, except your wriststrap. So I gradually learned to store everything important on that, virtually - holopics and holovids of everything that was dear to me, locked away of course, away from prying eyes in case someone should gain access to the outer functions of the thing, but still with me."

He shakes his head, bringing his gaze back to the present and giving Spike a rueful smile. "It wasn't until I got stranded in Cardiff and had to settle in for the long haul that I started accumulating stuff again."

[sparkandburn]

A part of him wishes he could relate. No one said good bye to him when he left home, chances are no one even missed him. There were no gifts, no keepsakes, nothing remaining but the clothes on his body and whatever cash he had on hand which, to be honest, wasn't all that much. Middle class without the dosh to show for it. Material possessions just weren't important anymore after that, or at least easily discarded - much like human life. They went through so much stuff, him and Dru. They ruined so many lives.

He's quiet while Jack talks, masking this contemplative mood in the bottle of whiskey. There's a mission here, or at least the beginning of one and so he follows up with another question.

"And now?"

They haven't kept in touch for awhile. He has no idea what Jack is up to these days.

[forever_jack]

Very different circumstances for each of them, yet with very similar results. They're both used to moving around, never settling anywhere for long - okay, over a century in Cardiff, but it was decades before he even really started to settle and he was always ready to leave at the drop of a hat at the sound of the TARDIS materialising. Ironically ready to settle, then, when he returned after the year on the Valiant, but fate had other ideas, literally blowing up all of his accumulated possessions and then taking both Ianto and Stephen from him in swift succession.

Then came Marina and Ianto, and then Spike, and then Saavi and Taiana and he was just starting to settle in and let himself feel like he had a home again (even if that home was a ship) before it was all brutally stripped away from him once more.

He shrugs, taking another swig of whiskey to mask the emotion that threatens to come through. "Right now, I have hardly anything. Lost everything again a short while back and it's feeling kind of hard to accumulate anything more."

And that's all he's giving on that. "What about you? No pressure from Ianto to settle down in one place, start accumulating stuff?"

moose haus

[traumatizing]

Jack's in luck-- along comes a sullen-looking guy with a whole host of piercings, a guitar slung across his back, and a wheely case dragging behind him. Wearing skinny jeans that are torn to hell, a pair of scuffed Doc Martens, and a hoodie that absolutely swamps him. It's probably easy to get a feel for the kind of guy coming up the path.

He's tilting his head up and squinting at the signs, expression softening some when he catches Jack's face under the sign and he offers a hesitant wave.

[forever_jack]

Well, a goth rock star will certainly be an interesting addition to the already contrasting cabin-mates of an immortal fifty-first century captain, a scarred, shy Japanese schoolgirl and an alien princess!

Jack straightens when the newcomer waves, and gives him a friendly smile. "Hi! Looking for Moose Cabin?"

[traumatizing]

"I am," Terry pulls his case up along to the porch and stops, leaning against the fence. This guy looks like the friendly, personable type, which is... Probably fine.

Well, he'll find out either way.

He offers up a hand in greeting now he's close enough, not smiling but you know. Not looking upset either. "Terry, nice to meet you."

[forever_jack]

Jack is very friendly and personable. Sometimes a little too friendly and personable, but he's doing his best to rein that in at the moment!

He takes the proffered hand and gives it a firm, warm shake, unperturbed by the lack of a smile. "Good to meet you, Terry. Captain Jack Harkness." He turns towards the house. "Come on in. I've got some coffee on if you'd like some?"

[traumatizing]

Jack's discovered the hack to Terry's friendship: Coffee. His expression brightens considerably and he huffs a sigh that's like the weight of the world slipping off his shoulders, following Jack into the house.

"I'd love some."

[forever_jack]

Well, that worked out well, then! He grins when Terry perks up at the offer of coffee, and leads him inside.

"Great! Kitchen's through here." He glances back at the new guy as he reaches down a mug and pours the coffee. "It's not as good as my boyfriend Ianto makes, but it's still pretty good. Something about this place, I think. Perhaps it's the water!"

[traumatizing]

Something about that makes Terry smile warmly, (it's a small smile, but it's there,) probably just the smell of coffee. He watches Jack pour, nodding along at the comment on the water, and tips his head thoughtfully.

"Is he here? Your boyfriend." He tries to sound just curious-- god forbid he come across upset or anything like that. It's just a little hard not to feel like it's some kind of cosmic joke if the first person he meets is gonna be canoodling with his boyfriend or whatever.

[forever_jack]

He chuckles wryly as he hands the mug over. "Funnily enough, yes. He arrived on the last ferry with our other boyfriend, but they didn't know I was here and I didn't know they were coming. Totally unplanned! I... hadn't seen much of them for rather a long time. It's all a little weird!"

[traumatizing]

"Your other boyfriend?" Terry raises his eyebrows, taking the mug at the same time and holding it in both hands, "that's a pretty big coincidence."

[forever_jack]

"Spike," he nods, draining the last of his own coffee and pouring himself some more.

"And yeah, isn't it," he agrees blandly. "Almost seems like someone up there - or at least someone overseeing this island - wants to see us back together!"

[traumatizing]

The names mean nothing right now, but there's not that many people here. Terry suspects he'll bump into them sooner or later. Either way, it doesn't seem like Jack is super enthused about this, but they literally just met. It's not Terry's place to pry.

("Back together" though? Maybe he won't be walking in on much canoodling after all. Sounds messy.)

"Lucky you," is what Terry settles on, slightly hoping the lack of positivity on his part is swallowed up by the mug as he works his way through his own coffee.

[forever_jack]

Jack's... ambivalent about it. Very mixed emotions. Mainly because it's all so incredibly complicated.

But yeah, Terry's probably safe enough from walking in on canoodling, at least for the moment.

He catches the lack of enthusiasm for the subject and deliberately shifts away from it.

"So... Terry!" He glances across to the guitar case now resting inside the door. "You're a musician?"